2008 Health Ins Premium Increases

[fisherman]

Just got my increase for 2008. 10%. In line with expectations but since our only use of the plan was for wellness care it would be nice if they provided an explanation of why the increase was 10%. maybe it is to help fund next years 57% profit increase as they had this year.

So what was your increase?

[Twinkle Toes]

10% here, too. We have a $5,000 deductible and they have never had to pay for anything for us. I've come to the conclusion that increases are based on age...but wait, the insurer I had before this one sometimes increased premiums every 6 months...and they never paid out anything for us either. Guess that blew my theory.

[lazygood4nothinbum]

my deduct went up a few bucks but my premiums went up 15%. all with not a claim. the bastids.

they didn't cite age as reason for increase. they cited increased costs of the system. i'm looking foward to vagabonding out of this system.

[retire@40]

I had an 18% increase this year.

Last year it was a 15% increase.

[Notmuchlonger]

Well those increases suck.

[Twinkle Toes]

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum

they didn't cite age as reason for increase. they cited increased costs of the system. i'm looking foward to vagabonding out of this system.

They never cite age as a reason...it's always "increased cost of the system", but gees louise, they never spent a dime on me.

On the other side of the coin, I have a friend who had cancer (returned last year) and the premiums for her alone (at least a couple of years ago) were $10,000/year. She can't change insurance companies because of her pre-existing condition. Frankly, she's happy to pay the premiums and considers it to be a bargain because it has paid out many, many times the premiums she's paid in. I'd rather be in my shoes, with my complaint, than in hers.

Lazy, do you plan to self insure while you travel?

[Rambler]

...increased cost of the system you mean increased cost of lots of people trying to find ways to deny your claim?

R

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

They never cite age as a reason...it's always "increased cost of the system", but gees louise, they never spent a dime on me.

On the other side of the coin, I have a friend who had cancer (returned last year) and the premiums for her alone (at least a couple of years ago) were $10,000/year. She can't change insurance companies because of her pre-existing condition. Frankly, she's happy to pay the premiums and considers it to be a bargain because it has paid out many, many times the premiums she's paid in. I'd rather be in my shoes, with my complaint, than in hers.

Lazy, do you plan to self insure while you travel?

ya, well, they were very apologetic about me having to pay more. i feel so sorry for them as i cut them their monthly check.

travel will be tricky. i've posted before that i'm trying to judge for just how long i see myself expatriated. i'm 51 now so from when i leave i won't be back until at least 65 if at all. the tentative plan is travel (by land or sail) for 10-14 years (was 15 years but i can't go until i sell houses), then when i'm too old to sail, get myself a trawler and cruise summers in northern u.s.a. & canada & winters in florida & the bahamas. my alternative is keeping a small condo here and spending 1/2 each year overseas which i'd consider if portability is affirmed by florida courts, if i can sell my place at a decent price and pick up a nice foreclosure in a less expensive area.

but as of this writing i really have no sure idea of what i'm doing.

i would self insure during travel only in that i'd get a higher deductible than i'm currently carrying. and i'd purchase catastrophic care through an international company instead of a u.s. one. it should reduce my cost by about half. i don't know if keeping a florida homebase might not prevent me from getting international insurance; still have to investigate that. i can handle the cost of insurance here; it just riles me to have to pay so much especially when i spend so much money & effort to stay healthy in the first place.

your friend's $10k/year bill would freak me out. good luck to her. i'd certainly try to get insurance overseas to cover a cost like that.

[mb]

A slight change in topic.

So does anyone know of an unbiased (e.g. not funded by the insurance industry or some other special interest group) study that breaks down the different factors contributing to health care increases such as this

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

Frankly, she's happy to pay the premiums and considers it to be a bargain because it has paid out many, many times the premiums she's paid in.?

and this

maybe it is to help fund next years 57% profit increase as they had this year.

and this

...increased cost of the system you mean increased cost of lots of people trying to find ways to deny your claim?

and the cost to adopt new technology?

MB

[youbet]

I carry medical for myself and dental for both DW and myself from my former employer on a pre-65 retiree plan. DW has her own medical similarly priced from her prior employer.

2007 - $286/mo
2008 - $316/mo

So, looks like a 10.5% increase. This is a low deductible ($350 maybe?), 80-20 plan with so-so prescription drug coverage. At 65, we'll be jettisoned to Medicare and will need to find our own Medicare supplement on the open market.

[chinaco]

We had an 7% increase on DW plus her drug copay went up to 3x what it was $5 to $14. We are going to transfer prescriptions to Walmart or Sams. Cheaper to skip the insurance. When one pays more for a generic than they can buy it on the open market... they are covering the cost of another drug for someone else or just adding huge profit to the drug companies bottom line.

My insurance had a small increase, but most of the increase was put on people for unhealthy living practices (overwieght, smoking, etc).

A commentator on the national news said government health care costs by 2017 will reach $4trillion 1/5 of GDP. If thost are the government cost then the combination of private and government must be massive.

I smell HMOs in the future of most medicaid and medicare recipients future. The government is going to have to start negotiating drug prices with drug companies... not doing so is just stupid. The drug program for medicare helped the recipeint but could be much better and is not good for the tax payer.

Health Care Will Cost $4 Trillion by 2017, Gov't Projects That Medical Expenses For An Aging Population Will Be 20% Of GDP - CBS News

n 2006, people and the government spent $2.1 trillion on health care, an average of $7,026 a person. In 2017, health spending will cost an estimated $13,101 a person.

Within the health sector, economists project that spending on hospital care will increase at rate of 6.9 percent a year over the coming decade, spending on physician services will rise 5.9 percent annually, and spending on nursing homes will grow 5.2 percent a year.

[Dawg54]

2008 up 6.4%, last year 5%.

[TromboneAl]

Got a notice from BC that DW's premium will go up, but no notice for my plan. Don't know if that means mine isn't changing.

[Want2retire]

My share of the premiums for myself only, on BCBS Standard for federal employees in my area, was:

year $/month % increase
2006 $125.82 ?
2007 $128.93 2.5%
2008 $134.66 4.4%

I guess I am pretty lucky. That doesn't seem at all unreasonable, given the increased rate of inflation lately. They may have chipped away at the medical benefits defined as BCBS Standard; I haven't been paying attention. Probably should take a look.

[ziggy29]

My share of the premium went down from $178/mo last year to $98/mo this year.

But that's only because I switched over to an HSA-eligible HDHP this year ($2500 family deductible/$4000 out of pocket max). Megacorp is seeding the HSA with $500 a year for now.

[megacorp-firee]

COBRA - 5% increase

[Walt34]

Ours went from $296.21 to $300.90, a $4.69 increase per month. Since we are eating more than that in prescriptions (which cost $4) it's a deal. Includes dental. The company is BCBS, we pay 30% of the premium but it's for life and becomes secondary to Medicare/Medicaid at 65.

An unexpected bennie this year is that $3K of it is deductible for retired public safety workers, of which I am one. Perhaps that's one of those "red-haired Eskimo" bills that congresscritters pass?

[REWahoo]

My January increase was 6.5% (from $216 to $230/month).

DW is in the state high risk pool, which adjusts rates every 6 months and "on the 5's", age wise. Her monthly premium started at $367 Jan 07, increased 7.1% in July, increased another 7.1% Jan 08, and will increase another 17.8% in April when she turns 60. The total increase in the 15 months she's been on the plan: 35%.

IF my premium continues to increase 6.5% per year and hers by 7.1% each 6 months, by the time we are eligible for Medicare we will be paying $14,000 per year for health insurance, insurance with a $5,000 deductible for each of us.

Yep, retiring early without company/govt paid health premiums can be a tad expensive.

[sailor]

Kaiser Permanente Georgia: 20.7% increase (2007 premium was $2624, 2008 is $3168 )

[freebird5825]

2.3% pension increase in Jan 08

one month later...
5.5% health insurance increase, self only